This sounds to me a lot like the Verditius mystery initiation of automata.
Automata can be much more powerful, because you can add a variety of powers to them. Similar powers may well have been one of the precursors of the Automata mystery, but what I propose is significantly weaker.
In this case, any capability would be limited to the shape of the animated object. A chair would be able to walk about. A humanoid statue would be able to walk, carry stuff and clumsily attack as directed. A contraption shaped like a bird (with feathers attached to its wings) would be able to fly and, if large enough, carry my magus around. It would also take quite some time to craft and would be quite fragile. Any attack upon it would probably bring it down.
Again, I am basing this power on an existing guideline from the core book: Make a plant or thing made of plant products move with purpose and intelligence, without requiring your constant control. But it is a Mythic Blood power, not strictly a Hermetic spell. So it might diverge sligthly from how Hermetic magic works. Also, as a Mythic Blood power, it is less than optinal because it doesn't really matter that it can be fast-cast without fatigue. So I am making a case that a little flexibility would not be over-powered. And it is certainly colorful. It would mean having a magus who will craft various wooden waldos for him to use, and which are of little use to others. 
But if you feel that it is too powerful or inappropriate to the saga, I'll try to find something else. Or I will drop Mythic Blood and use a different mix of virtues. Not a problem. 8)
It also sounds a lot like Animo from Virgilian Magic, in Rival Magic (Augustan Brotherhood I believe). I think that was one of their gimmicks at least.
There's also the golems from RoP: Divine (the Jewish chapter, if I recall correctly).
A complete draft of Maximilian...
Maximilian of Verditius
Pater:Tyrrania of Verditius
Age: 27
Size: 0
Gender: Male
Characteristics: Int +4, Per +1, Str -2, Sta -2, Pre +2, Com 0, Dex +2, Qik 0
Virtues: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Verditius Magic (House), Mythic Blood (Daedalus), Free Study, Great Characteristic (Intelligence), Inventive Genius, Minor Magical Focus (Wood), Personal Vis Source, Puissant Craft: Woodcarving, Puissant Magic Theory, Venus’ Blessing
Flaws: Ambitious (minor), Deficient Form (Aquam), Favors, Limited Magic Resistance (Ignem), Proud (minor), Twilight Prone, Visions
*Derived from Mythic Blood
Personality Traits: Ambitious +3, Charming +2, Proud +3
Abilities:
Area Lore: Greece (legends) 2
Area Lore: Polyaigos covenant (personalities) 1
Artes Liberales (arithmetics) 2
Athletics (climbing) 2
Awareness (listening) 2
Bargain (favors) 1
Brawl (dodge) 1
Charm (servants) 2
Concentration (lab work) 1
Craft: Woodcarving (wands) 5+2
Etiquette (nobility) 1
Folk Ken (women) 2
Language: Romaic Greek (storytelling) 5
Language: Classical Greek (hermetic usage) 3
Language: Latin (Hermetic usage) 1
Magic Lore (creatures) 1
Magic Theory (enchanting items) 3+2
Order of Hermes Lore (personalities) 1
Parma Magica (Ignem) 1
Philosophiae (enchanting items) 2
Stealth (hide) 1
Verditius Cult Lore (history) 0[sup]1[/sup]
Magical Arts: Cr 8, In 3, Pe 3, Re 3, Ig 9
Wizard's Sigil: Complexity and swirling, in the appearance of many moving parts assembling to form the effect.
Warping and Twilight Effects
Warping Score: 1 (7 points total)
Twilight Scars: Scratches and wear on wooden objects in his vicinity slowly heal (over the course of weeks or months, depending on how often he handles them).
Spells:
Bind Wound (CrCo 10)
Rise of the Feathery Body (ReCo 10)
Intuition of the Forest (InHe 10)
Heat of the Searing Forge (CrIg 10)
Flash of the Scarlet Flames (CrIg 15)
Pilum of Fire (CrIg 20)
Extinguish the Raging Bonfire (PeIg 10) -- Puts out a fire as large as a bonfire. [Base 3, +2 Voice, +1 size]
Prying Eyes (InIm 5)
Taste of Spices and Herbs (MuIm 5)
Wizard’s Sidestep (ReIm 10)
Scales of the Magical Weight (InVi 5)
Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5)
Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem (PeVi 5)
Appearance: Maximilian is fairly plain, with a delicate stature, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. His smile is dazzling and his teeth perfect, something that he uses to great effect when trying to charm a comely maid.
Background:
Maximilian’s youth was marked deeply by his mother. Lady Anna’s beauty was so great that some compared her to the famed Helen of Troy. She was married young, to a powerful and rich noble in Corinth. It is said, however, that she had a lover who fathered her son. So Maximilian found little favor in his father’s eyes. Certainly, the fragile boy looked nothing like his burly father. Still, he was cared for and loved by his mother, and at least tolerated by his father.
His life changed during the winter of his eight birthday, when his father died of a fever. Anna had not been his first wife, so there were several older sons to inherit the family lands and wealth. They quickly arranged a new marriage for Anna, sending her off to the distant lands of her new husband. She was unhappy about this and still grieving over the loss of her husband, but she had little choice in the matter. It was remarry or be sent to a nunnery, so Anna accepted her fate so that should could remain with her son.
Her new husband was far too busy managing his lands and making war with his neighbors to actively dislike the boy, but saw him has useless. The boy was frail and not at all inclined towards the arts of war. He was also much too smart for comfort, full of questions and spouting nonsense from the stories being read to him by his mother tutors. There was also something about him that was starting to make people uncomfortable. He had no friends his own age and avoided other boys, who tended to beat him whenever they could. Only his mother and her few long-standing servants were really fond of him.
When Anna died a few years later while giving birth to another child, his stepfather decided to get rid of the boy away. So when a passing stranger offered to apprentice him, a deal was quickly struck.
So it was that the boy found himself apprenticed to Tyrrania, a maga of House Verditius and member of the confraternity of Balento. Tyrrania was generally considered a harsh and arrogant woman, who delighted in creating wands and staves enchanted with fire magic. Her reason for choosing the boy was simple -- he already had some skill in woodcarving, a hobby he had picked up as a youth when illness prevented him from going out. To the surprise of all who knew her, she soon began doting on the boy.
As is typical in House Verditius, she gave more importance to crafting skills and the ability to enchant items than to the magical arts themselves. She taught her apprentice to master the theories behind enchantments, something he had a natural aptitude for, but spent even more time teaching him advanced techniques of carving wood, bone and ivory. And although she did not yet induct her apprentice into the deeper mysteries of her confraternity, she imposed her interest in fire magic. She felt that his inborn abilities with wood might serve him well in the future, but that he could develop them on his own time once Gauntleted.
During his apprenticeship, he also suffered a serious mishap in the laboratory, which drove him into Twilight. Although he was able to extricate himself from the magical maze he found himself immersed in, controlling the experience and learning from it, it made him more susceptible to future episodes.
For his Gauntlet, he crafted a wand of hickory that could blind opponent with blinding flashes of flames, with enough power to affect weaker supernatural creatures as well as mundanes, multiple times a day. This pushed his capabilities to the maximum, but proved satisfactory. Although Tyrrania kept the wand and display it proudly in her studio, Maximilian has retained his lab notes should he wish to replicate the enchantment.
Upon accepting her apprentice’s masterpiece, Tyrannia gave him the name Maximilian. Soon after, however, she departed the tribunal to settle down at Verdi, in the Tribunal of Rome.
If the Mythic Blood power ends up being considered too powerful, I will simply change the mix of virtues and flaws to the following:
Virtues: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Verditius Magic (House), Affinity with Herbam, Deft Herbam, Free Study, Great Characteristic (Intelligence), Inventive Genius, Minor Magical Focus (Wood), Personal Vis Source, Puissant Craft: Woodcarving, Puissant Magic Theory, Venus’ Blessing
Flaws: Ambitious (minor), Deficient Form (Aquam), Favors, Limited Magic Resistance (Ignem), Proud (minor), Twilight Prone, [strike]Visions[/strike]
Following my comment regarding languages in JoelHalpern's magus topic, I will change Maximilian's starting languages scores from:
Language: Romaic Greek (storytelling) 6
Language: Latin (Hermetic usage) 1
to:
Language: Romaic Greek (storytelling) 5
Language: Classical Greek (hermetic usage) 3
Language: Latin (Hermetic usage) 1
I feel this makes more sense for him, as I'll want him to be able to write hermetic texts eventually, and this will be the less costly alternative for that. Raising Classical Greek from 3 to 4 will be much easier to do (still possible to have a teacher) that raising Romaic Greek from 6 to 7 (which would probably rely on exposure and practice for the most part).
Making the changes on the previously posted stats.
I haven't received any further comment regarding his potential Mythic Blood power, but at this moment I am leaning towards dropping the Mythic Blood. He may still be inspired on Daedalus' stories, and might want to investigate and emulate those, but without the "mythic" relationship.
Nobody commented on this, so I will explicitly bring it forward to the troupe and storyguide. Is it acceptable to give this small positive Twilight Scar to the character in exchange for the fact that he starts out with 7 Warping points?
Considering his Twilight Prone flaw, I felt that it made sense that he would have experienced a Twilight episode during apprenticeship, and rolling for it provided me with a positive experience. Considering his inborn aptitude for wood, this seemed appropriate and not overly powerful.
It seems appropriate, but the scratches and so forth will return within a year of being away from Maximillian. One thing I am wondering about is why there is no score in Herbem given his affinities.
I'm fine with that.
Background. His mater imposed her own interests of Ignem magic. He will develop his own speciality as an Herbam magus during game time.
I still think he would have had enough self determination to put at least 1 point into He during his apprenticeship.
I still might give him an Herbam score. I've also decided to switch Deft Herbam for Skilled Parens. Will post another version soon.
Here's a new version of his stats. Removed Deft Herbam but gave him a score in that Art. Background is unchanged. New and modified stuff highlighted in red.
Maximilian of Verditius
Mater:Tyrrania of Verditius
Age: 27 (born 1193 A.D.)
Size: 0
Gender: Male
Confidence: 1 (3)
Characteristics: Int +4, Per +1, Str -2, Sta -2, Pre +2, Com 0, Dex +2, Qik 0
Virtues: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Verditius Magic (House), Affinity with Herbam, Free Study, Great Characteristic (Intelligence), Inventive Genius, Minor Magical Focus (Wood), Personal Vis Source, Puissant Craft, Puissant Magic Theory, Skilled Parens, Venus’ Blessing
Flaws: Ambitious (minor), Deficient Form (Aquam), Favors, Limited Magic Resistance (Ignem), Proud (minor), Twilight Prone
Personality Traits: Ambitious +3, Charming +2, Proud +3
Abilities:
Area Lore: Greece (legends) 2
Area Lore: Polyaigos covenant (personalities) 1
Artes Liberales (arithmetics) 2
Athletics (climbing) 2
Awareness (listening) 2
Bargain (favors) 1
Brawl (dodge) 1
Charm (servants) 2
Concentration (lab work) 1
Craft: Woodcarving (wands) 5+2
Etiquette (nobility) 1
Folk Ken (women) 2
Language: Romaic Greek (storytelling) 5
Language: Classical Greek (hermetic usage) 4
Language: Latin (hermetic usage) 1
Magic Lore (creatures) 1
Magic Theory (enchanting items) 4+2
Order of Hermes Lore (personalities) 1
Parma Magica (Ignem) 1
Philosophiae (enchanting items) 2
Stealth (hide) 1
Verditius Cult Lore (history) 0[sup]+1 xp[/sup]
Magical Arts: Cr 8, In 3, Pe 3, Re 3, He 5, Ig 10
Wizard's Sigil: Complexity and swirling, in the appearance of many moving parts assembling to form the effect.
Warping and Twilight Effects
Warping Score: 1 (7 points total)
Twilight Scars: Scratches and wear on wooden objects in his vicinity slowly heal (over the course of weeks or months, depending on how often he handles them). They return within a year of being away from Maximilian’s presence.
Spells:
Aegis of Unbreakable Wood (MuHe 15)
Intuition of the Forest (InHe 10)
Heat of the Searing Forge (CrIg 10)
Flash of the Scarlet Flames (CrIg 15)
Pilum of Fire (CrIg 20)
Extinguish the Raging Bonfire (PeIg 15) -- Puts out a fire as large as a bonfire. [Base 4, +2 Voice, +1 size]
Ward Against Heat and Flames (ReIg 25)
Bind Wound (CrCo 10)
Rise of the Feathery Body (ReCo 10)
Wizard’s Sidestep (ReIm 10)
Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5)
Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem (PeVi 5)
following the guideline for dwarves in ROP:faeries, craft puissance or affinity does not need to specialize- it applies to all crafts.
for abilities plus arts I am coming up with 427 points, if you completed your gauntlet at age 25 you should have 435 points, if you completed it at age 26 you would have 420 points.
Good thing to know about Puissant and Affinity with Craft.
I made a small typo and Ignem is supposed to be 10. I am coming up with a total of 450 xp:
- 45 xp from Childhood: Awareness 2 (15 xp), Charm 2 (15 xp), Folk Ken 2 (15 xp)
- 105 from Later Life (before apprenticeship): Greece Lore 2 (15 xp), Athletics 2 (15 xp), Bargain 1 (5 xp), Brawl 1 (5 xp), Craft 4 (55xp), Etiquette 1 (5 xp), Stealth 1 (5 xp)
- 181 in Abilities during apprenticeship: Area Lore: Polyaigos 1 (5 xp), Artes Liberales 2 (15 xp), Concentration 1 (5 xp), Craft 5 (adding 20 xp), Language: Classical Greek 4 (50 xp), Language: Latin 1 (5 xp), Magic Lore 1 (5 xp), Magic Theory 4 (50 xp), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (5 xp), Parma Magica 1 (5 xp), Philosophiae 2 (15 xp), Verditius Cult Lore 0 (1 xp)
- 119 xp in Arts during apprenticeship: Cr 8 (36 xp), In 3 (6 xp), Pe3 (6 xp), Re 3 (6 xp), He 5 (10 xp + Affinity), Ig 10 (55 xp)
Breakdown of xp is: 45 for Childhood, 105 for Later Life (to age 12), 300 for Apprenticeship (to age 27)
Okay, once again I had some errors in my spreadsheet... this character is ready for posting in magi
One virtue and one flaw for my magus requires some additional details, namely Personal Vis Source and Favors.
I picture Maximilian's personal vis source as external to himself, essentially a site that was granted to him at the end of his apprenticeship. This could be something relatively close to the covenant, which would partly explain his desire to join the new covenant. One possibility is that the source is in the ruins of Boura or in the Baricus river gorge (the alternate site I had proposed for the covenant here). Since it is about 30 miles away from the covenant, he could go and harvest the source without impacting his lab routine. Perhaps there are other vis sources in the area, which could be claimed by the covenant when found (during a story), but Maximilian's specific source would remain his alone. I am thinking that a source of Vim vis might be optimal for a Verditius, but perhaps an Herbam one might also make sense to help him develop his natural aptitudes even if we don't have books on this Art. Could the source provide both kinds? Essentially two small sources in the same area, both belonging to him?
As for the Favors flaw, this could be the magus who initially found that he had the Gift and brought him in. Maximilian's mater may have been a metoikos (resident foreigner), and this magus arranged for her to take Maximilian as her apprentice. He also acted as an outside mentor and, when Maximilian completed his Gauntlet, transfered ownership of the vis source to him. I am picturing him as a Criamon magus, who wanders through the tribunal visiting oracular sites and searching for visions of some kind. He occasionally asks Maximilian to perform some task for him. Some of the tasks are quite mundane and without consequence. Others involve crafting charged item for some specific (but unnamed) purpose. Occasionally, on of these tasks will lead to a story. In the past, these tasks have not been too difficult to perform nor did they put Maximilian in danger. They have sometimes been beneficial to him, although some seemed a complete loss of time. Those that might require the loss of a season probably won't happen more often than once every few years. How does that sound?
One virtue one type. To my mind herbem would be more valuable, as vim is the only kind that can be extracted in the lab by most magi.
I'm fine with favors owed to a criamon who gave you the vis source.
In all the sagas that I have seen, Vim was considered more valuable because it is useful for so many things (fixing arcane connections, preparing items for enchantment, longevity ritual and of course casting the Aegis), while Herbam was often considered the least valuable, because it was relatively plentiful and more limited in its uses (Herbam rituals and enchantments).
Extracting Vim vis is always possible, but that takes time -- the most valuable commodity of all -- and according to RoP:M, doing it too often risks damaging the aura in which it is done.
With all that said, I think I will go with an Herbam source anyway. 8)
Vis sort of has this hierarchy ive seen. Creo (tends to be highest, and of the most value to trade with redcaps) its also the basis for plenty of combat forms (Hi flambeau), and essential for healing. Vim comes in a close second for all of its uses, and general scarity in other tribunals, and the sheer amount you need to open items. The lowest value has been Imaginem (per the red caps again), the perception of herb being less valuable is generally people not looking at just all what it covers...take it to the rhine and that shit is scary as all get out. Just my two cents on that.
Indeed. The hierarchy I've always seen is something like this:
- Creo
- Other Techniques + Vim
- Corpus (for healing and longevity rituals)
- Mentem and the remainging physical Forms (An, Aq, Au, He, Te) -- although Animal and Herbam is more plentiful than the others, so slightly less valuable
- Imaginem